GE Foundation and IIE - GE STAR Award

Summary

Associate Professor of Physics Rebecca Koopmann is the recipient of the GE Foundation's 2012 GE STAR Program teacher/mentor award.

Abstract

Prof. Koopmann was nominated for this award by her advanced high school student research assistant, Wyatt Smith, who also received the GE STAR Award. The GE STAR Awards competition is open to high school seniors who are children of eligible GE employees and retirees worldwide. The purpose of the award is to defray first-year higher education expenses. In addition to the financial award to the student, the program also provides a modest award to the teacher or mentor of the student's choosing. As a high school student, Mr. Smith was mentored by Prof. Koopmann during research experiences supported by the Physics & Astronomy Department, and he also visited the Arecibo observatory, sponsored by the National Science Foundation (Award ID 0724918).